Broadway Bootcamp
by LuvMeSumGlee
Summary: What if Rachel and Jesse had met in middle school,before they were rivals? St. Berry
1. Chapter 1

***A/N New St. Berry fic! This is AU I suppose. What would have happened if Rachel and Jesse had met in middle school, at summer camp, before they were rivals? We shall see : ) Please review and let me know what you think!***

I leaned my head against the cool glass of the bus window, watching the scenery whiz by. I could barely contain my excitement. I was on my way to Broadway Bootcamp, the most prestigious fine arts camp in the Midwest. It was all I could do to keep from screaming with excitement. My first year of middle school had been tough. In elementary, I had never quite fit in, but it wasn't until sixth grade that I'd truly felt alone. Everyone seemed to have their own clique, a place where they belonged, while I was just the weird girl who sang all the time. But, for four weeks, I was going to be surrounded by people that were just like me, people that loved performing as much as I did. We pulled up to the camp and I couldn't get off the bus fast enough. I grabbed my bags and spun around, taking in every detail of the campground. This was going to be amazing. I was so busy looking around in awe, that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I ran right into a firm, slightly taller body.

"Sorry," I said. When I saw who I'd run into, my jaw dropped a little. He was absolutely gorgeous. He had brown wavy hair and the most beautiful green eyes I had ever seen.

"It's ok," he replied. He smiled, and I melted. "Just watch where you're going next time." He didn't say it in a rude or condescending way; his tone was more teasing and (dare I say it?) flirty. I automatically felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

"I-I will," I stuttered, before turning and walking away. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw that the boy was still looking at me. I whipped my head back around and blushed even deeper. He was obviously older and very good looking. Guys like that had never paid any attention to me other than to call me names or knock my books out of my hand so I wasn't really sure how to handle it. I smiled. I could get used to that attention though.

I didn't exactly hit it off with my bunkmates. I had expected them to be girls like me, girls who were viewed as losers because the athletes and the cheerleaders didn't understand the meaning of talent, but these girls were more like the cheerleaders than the choir nerds. I had very enthusiastically introduced myself as "future Broadway star" to which they all dissolved into a fit of giggles. I frowned. This was not how I wanted to make my first impression. I didn't have a chance to remedy the situation, however, because just then the bell rang, signaling it was time for dinner. The five girls I was going to be sharing a room with hurried off together, linking arms and laughing like they were the best of friends. I crossed my arms around my chest self-consciously and walked to the mess hall alone.

The lunch lady piled some unidentifiable slop on my plate. I grimaced.

"Is this vegan?" I asked. The woman snorted before turning to serve the next person in line. I looked down at the tray morosely, as my stomach began to grumble. Basically the only thing I could eat was the slice of wheat bread. I sighed.

"Do you want my bread?" a familiar voice asked. I looked up to see the boy I had run into earlier standing before me. I just stood there in shock, mouth agape. His brow furrowed at my lack of response. "Vegans do eat bread, right?"

"Y-yes," I said once I found my voice. He held out the slice and I tentatively took it from him. My hand brushed against his and I sucked in a breath. The boy just laughed. "Thanks," I said quietly.

"You're welcome," he replied. "I'm Jesse," he said, sticking out his hand. Finally I snapped out of it.

"I'm Rachel Berry," I said, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. "Remember that name, because I'm going to be a big star one day." Jesse laughed again.

"That's what everyone here says," he pointed out.

"Well, for me it's true," I said defensively. He looked at me appraisingly.

"Maybe," he said. "See you around, Rachel." With that, he turned and sat at a table with his friends.

"See you Jesse," I replied, liking the way his name felt on my lips. "Jesse," I whispered again.

I had a feeling these next four weeks were going to be good.


	2. Chapter 2

After dinner, there was a campfire. An honest to God campfire. It was horribly cliché, but I kind of loved it anyway. One of the counselors suggested that, since we were going to be singing all day every day for the next month, we might as well get started now. When he asked for volunteers, my hand shot up reflexively. Rachel Berry never missed a chance to perform. But looking around, I saw that no one else was raising their hand, or even looking remotely interested. Realizing I looked too eager, I lowered my hand but not before the counselor saw me and motioned for me to come stand in the center of the circle. I hesitated.

"Come on, there's no need to be nervous," he said encouragingly. I tensed. I was not nervous! Stars don't get nervous. With that in mind, I proudly stood and strutted to the center. I heard a girl giggle. Ok, maybe I was the tiniest bit nervous. I gulped, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and began to sing.

_On my own, pretending he's beside me…_

When I opened my eyes, everyone was looking at me in awe. Apparently no one had expected me to be any good. That might have hurt a little, but I liked being able to surprise people. As I sang, my gaze drifted over to Jesse. He smiled appreciatively. He liked my voice. My heart swelled with pride. I finished my song and sat down primly, smiling graciously at the people who were sweet enough to applaud and ignoring the evil glares I was getting from my now insanely jealous bunkmates.

That night, I left the cabin to go take a shower. The showers, along with the bathrooms, were in a separate building from my room. I thought it was incredibly inconvenient but I supposed it was all part of the camp "experience." So, pajamas in hand, I made the trek to the showers. I was beginning the second verse of _Defying Gravity_ when I heard the door slam as someone came in. I stopped singing.

"Is someone there?" I asked. My question was met by muffled giggles and a few shushes. "Hello?" I called, but my only answer was the door slamming shut again. I peeked my head out of the shower, clutching the curtain closed, and realized in horror that whoever it was had stolen my clothes. I groaned. If I were the cursing type, I most certainly would have cursed. At least they had been decent enough to leave my towel. I finished my shower and, wrapped in said towel, peeked out the door, desperately hoping everyone would already be in there cabins and no one would see me. It seemed I was in luck, because the distance between here and my cabin looked deserted. Grabbing my toiletries, I hurried out the door and walked as quickly as I could while holding up my towel.

"Rachel?" I heard an incredulous voice say. I winced, and slowly turned around.

"Hello Jesse," I said, trying to sound non-chalant. His face was a mixture of confusion and amusement. I was blushing, furiously, I just knew it.

"Why are you only wearing a towel?" he asked.

"Someone stole my clothes," I explained, looking away.

"Oh," was his response. I couldn't stand this torture any longer. I gave him a quick nod then turned and started toward my cabin, tears stinging my eyes. "Wait," he cried after me, "Can I walk you to your cabin?" I turned around and stared at him. This was an absolutely mortifying situation, and he wanted to drag it out? Why couldn't he just let us part ways here? Still, he looked so hopeful, I just couldn't say no.

"Sure," I said, and he fell into step next to me.

"You were great tonight," he said. I beamed at him.

"Thank you," I replied.

"You're welcome." He paused. "Listen, at the end of camp, there's this talent show. Every year I've done a solo, but I was thinking this year I might mix it up and do a duet," he explained, looking at me pointedly.

"And?" I prompted. Jesse looked at me, flustered. He obviously had thought implying his request would be enough for me to volunteer my services. He hadn't expected to have to actually ask me. Suddenly, he looked a bit nervous.

"Well… I was just wondering if you would want to, um, do a duet, you know… with me," he stumbled. We had reached the door of my cabin. I turned to him and grinned.

"I would be honored to do a duet with you, Jesse," I said.

"Great," he said with a smile. Then, impulsively, he leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I stood there in shock as he smiled again then turned and walked back to his cabin.

The girls started laughing when I walked into the room. I had suspected they were the culprits. The counselor got onto me and I made up an excuse about forgetting my clothes, she scolded me and told me not to let it happen again, then I went and got dressed. I climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to my chin. The lights were turned of. Slowly, I let my hand drift to my cheek, tracing where Jesse's lips had been.

I fell asleep smiling.


	3. Chapter 3

***I completely forgot to put an author's note on chapter two so for those of you who really missed my absolutely fascinating commentary, fear not, I'm back! Haha anyway, thanks so much for the reviews it means a lot. I'm leaving for Arizona tomorrow and I'll be gone for a week, so if I don't get another chapter posted today, this will be the last one in a while. Please review and let me know what you think! *******

I headed toward my cabin's table, dry cereal and fruit in tow. I wished they didn't make cabins sit together, because the girls in mine pretty much hated me. Also, I really wanted to sit with Jesse. I caught his eye from his table across the room. He smiled at me and I smiled shyly back.

"Who are you looking at?" Alyssa, a girl from my cabin, asked. She followed my gaze and scoffed. "Jesse St. James? Don't even think about it." I looked at her in confusion.

"You have no chance," another girl, Taylor, chimed in. "He's the most talented, and best looking, guy at this camp. He could have any girl he wanted. Why would he choose you?" she asked, her voice dripping with disdain.

"Because-" Any excuse I would have given was cut off by the girls' laughter. Embarrassed, I looked back down to my breakfast. Maybe they were right. Maybe the only reason Jesse had been nice to me last night was because he wanted me to be his partner. It made a lot more sense than him being interested in me romantically. The kiss had probably meant nothing to him, just a way to seal the deal.

Just then, the camp director started talking about the rules, schedule etc. I mostly tuned her out, but perked up when she mentioned classes. I was so excited to start classes. I was ready to learn from Ohio's best and brightest. They split us up according to age, which meant I wasn't with Jesse. I couldn't decide if I was disappointed or relieved. I put all thoughts of Jesse out of my head when we walked into the classroom though. It was time to focus on music.

My teacher was a woman in her early thirties. She had wild curly blonde hair and hazel eyes and she wore a floor length colorful dress. She introduced herself as Meredith. I could tell I was going to like her. After some warm-ups, she handed us all sheet music for _People Will Say We're in Love_ from _Oklahoma _and told us auditions would be at the end of the week. I frowned. I had never auditioned for a solo before. It might sound cocky, but I was the best singer at McKinley, so the choir director always just gave me the solos. I looked around the room. I knew I was good, but some of the girls in here might be better than me. We ran through the song together a few times. Meredith said the people that she picked for the duet, would be singing it on the last night of camp in front of everyone's parents. She encouraged us all to work on it on our own, so we were prepared for our auditions. Then we moved on to our group number, _One Short Day_ from _Wicked._ Before I knew it, class was over and it was time for lunch.

After lunch, we get two hours of free time to swim in the lake that's on the campground. I was walking to my cabin to change into my swimsuit when a strong hand gripped my arm and pulled my off the path and behind a tree. I screamed.

"Shh," Jesse hissed.

"Jesse, you scared me! What do you think you're doing?" I asked, a bit peeved at being scared for no reason. Jesse just rolled his eyes.

"Come on," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me into one of the deserted classrooms.

"What are we doing in here?" I asked, extremely aware of the fact that Jesse was still holding my hand even though he was no longer leading me anywhere.

"Practicing," he said. Much to my dismay, he let go of my hand to sit down at the piano.

"Why all the sneaking around?" I pressed.

"Because technically, we're not supposed to practice until the week before the talent show," he said with a guilty-looking smile. I frowned.

"So we're cheating," I said, concerned. Jesse shook his head emphatically.

"The other kids have been preparing for weeks at home. We're at a disadvantage, so we're just making up for lost time," he explained. I still looked at him warily. He stood from the piano and took my face in his hands. "It's not cheating. I promise." I still didn't buy it, but with his face just inches from mine, I couldn't refuse.

"So what song are we singing?" I asked. Jesse smiled and handed me some music.

"_The Phantom of the Opera_?" I asked incredulously.

"It's perfect, I know," Jesse said proudly. Then he caught the look on my face. "What's wrong?"

"Jesse, I cannot hit that last note," I cried.

"Sure you can," he encouraged. I shook my head.

"I really can't," I said. Jesse sighed.

"Have you ever heard of Vocal Adrenaline?" he asked out of the blue.

"Of course! They're the best show choir in the Midwest," I answered, confused.

"Well I'm going to Carmel High this year and I've been taking singing lessons from the coach to improve my range. She's taught me some great exercises. Believe me, by the time I'm through with you, you'll hit that last note," he said with a wink. He walked me through the exercises. After working on that for about twenty minutes, I suggested we just run through the song, skipping the end for now. Without a word, Jesse played the intro flawlessly on the piano. I smiled as I began to sing.

_In sleep he sang to me, in dreams he came…_

When Jesse's part came, he opened his mouth to sing and my heart stopped. He had the most beautiful voice I had ever heard. My mind went completely blank listening to him sing. The only thing going through my mind was _I'm in love._


	4. Chapter 4

***Somewhat short chapter, I know, but better than nothing right? I realize that I write Rachel slightly older than a twelve year old, but in the show she acts older than a sixteen year old, so I think she's been mature for her age all her life. Anyway, hope you like this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think!***

The routine of camp soon became second nature. Breakfast, singing class, lunch, recreation, dance class, dinner, group singing (usually by the clichéd campfire) then bed. As much as I loved everything about the camp, my favorite part of the day was practicing with Jesse. When I was with him I could forget about the rude comments my bunkmates made, how everyone basically ignored me when I wasn't singing. With him, I didn't feel like a loser.

Before I knew it, it was Saturday, the day of the audition. In between vocal exercises and practicing our song, Jesse had helped me a little with this duet as well. I knew I was prepared, but that didn't keep my stomach from fluttering when Meredith called my name. I stepped up to the front of the room. The boy I was partnered with, I think his name was Grant, gave me a nervous smile. The song began and suddenly I didn't see Grant standing before me. All I saw was Jesse. I sang the song with more emotion than I had thought possible. When we finished, the class was speechless.

"Very good, Rachel," Meredith said. I beamed at her as I took my seat. Meredith explained that the other classes had auditioned for solos as well, so all the solos would be announced at dinner. I walked out of the class, confident.

"Rachel," someone behind me said. I turned around to see Grant standing there. "You were really good," he said. The other girls from my cabin walked by.

"Yeah, good for a dying animal maybe," one of them whispered loud enough for us to here. I blushed and looked at the ground, blinking back tears.

"Thanks," I told Grant. "You were really good too." And, though he was no Jesse, he really was good. Then we parted ways and went to lunch. I was silent during lunch, picking at my food (Daddy had called the camp and got the meal thing straightened out, so I had vegan food finally). I had gotten used to the girls teasing me about my clothes, my personality, and so on. But they had insulted my talent. That really stung. At the first opportunity, I left the mess hall and went straight to the classroom Jesse and I used to practice. Once I was alone, the tears threatened to come again. I leaned against the wall and slid down on the floor. I rested my head on my knees, letting my hair cover my face. The door opened, but I made no attempt to move.

"Rachel?" I heard Jesse ask. "Oh my gosh," he exclaimed and I heard heavy footsteps as he rushed to my side. "What happened? Are you ok?" I felt his hand on my shoulder and finally raised my head to look at him. He was kneeling in front of me, his face full of concern.

"I'm fine," I said, quickly wiping away the few tears that had managed to escape my eyes. Jesse kept looking at me like he knew there was more to the story. I sighed. "I just don't fit in here," I explained. "I don't fit in at school and I thought here, of all places, I would fit in, but I don't." My voice cracked at the end as I struggled not to cry. Jesse didn't say anything, just pulled me into a hug. We sat like that for a while, neither of us wanting to break the silence. Finally, Jesse stood, helping me up as well.

"I think we should take a break from practicing today," he said. "How about swimming?" I smiled at his suggestion and nodded. As we walked out of the classroom, Jesse slid his arm around my waist. Smiling to myself, I realized I had found a place I fit in.

That place was wherever Jesse was.


End file.
